Cruising The Med

I recently took a cruise around the Mediterranean on Royal Caribbean's Navigator of The Seas. This was my third cruise on Navigator and even though the ship is going in for refurbishment later this year, she still looked beautiful to me.

We sailed from Southampton and for the first time I stayed overnight in Southampton pre-cruise. I don't normally do this as its only about two hours away from me but with the dreaded M25 it can sometimes be three or four hours, so we decided to drive down the night before and stay at the Holiday Inn. I would actually really recommend doing this. You start your holiday a day earlier and the next day we were fully relaxed and refreshed and able to join the ship nice an early.

During the cruise we called at the following ports: Gibraltar, Alicante, Palma, Sardinia, Seville and Lisbon.

I had never been to Gibraltar or Sardinia before and it was a definite must to see the monkeys on the rock in Gibraltar and the flamingos on the salt lakes in Sardinia.

I have always loved Palma and as an added bonus we got to stay overnight in port here. We went into the city for some late-night tapas and a visit to one of our favourite bars, Abaccos. The cocktails here are pricey at around 15 Euros but it is well worth it. Abaccos is an old house that has been turned into a bar which is filled with fresh flowers and fruit every day, a beautiful courtyard and parts of the old house can still be viewed - I would highly recommend a visit here if you are ever in Palma.

We had a balcony cabin on board the ship, something I always recommend if you can stretch to it. It’s so lovely to have the door open and have the summer breeze drifting through and perfect for people watching whilst in port.

The food was amazing - with a main dining restaurant for breakfast and evening meal, and a buffet restaurant open from 6.30am till 9pm you are totally spoilt for choice and it’s all included. You can if you want, visit one of the speciality restaurants - such as the steak house, Italian, tapas or sushi - we tried the Italian and tapas and they were amazing. It was around $20 -$30pp based on an all you can eat menu.

Whilst there is nothing wrong with the main dining or indeed the buffet - the specialty restaurants are nice for a special occasion or if you just want to treat yourself.

Entertainment wise there is so much going on - daily quizzes, dance lesson, casino lessons, surfing, rock climbing, swimming, activities around the pool, karaoke, cookery lessons and demonstrations, West End style shows every night, street parties – there is pretty much something going on from first thing in the morning till last thing at night and you can just dip in and out of whatever you choose.

I love cruising - you get to see so many different places, you only have to unpack once and you never have to pay for a taxi home after a good night out.

If you would like more information on cruising please don't hesitate to get in touch.

Kerry.cansdale@travelcounsellors.com

01277840262